LaGraize Builders | Arabi Heights, The Heights, Arabi Homes For Sale, Historic Holy Cross, Arabi Real Estate, Bywater | Licensed Contractor | Restoration Specialist

 

Porch Song: Contemporary Southern builders still champion the communal space

Southern porches are arms stretched out in welcome. They are platforms to receive, where southerly breezes perfumed with lavender and crepe myrtle dance under the cover of deep overhangs. Porches are a place of socialization and storytelling. They can be demure or expansive, bending to flank the sides of the house and extending toward the rear. Front porches are shaded spaces for gliding rockers and grand entrance ways to even grander estates; they are structures of post and beam framing nature’s wide canvas. Back porches offer shelter from the rain, relief from the sun and, when screened, keep out the bugs. They are cozy nooks, tucked away from prying eyes or immense outdoor living rooms for cooking and entertaining. They are for gossip and stolen kisses. A famous snapshot of Mark Twain, contemplative in a rocking chair looking out from his porch, personifies the significance that the porch holds in the hearts and minds of Southerners, where porch-sitting is more than an activity, it’s a way of life.
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Chic of Arabi: Modern design, vintage wood and a new start in St. Bernard Parish

A corner of Arabi on Bayou Bienvenue was abuzz last Sunday as people came and went at LaGraize Builders’ “Neo-Cottages,” open during the 2017 Parade of Homes. Organizers were a bit surprised by how many visitors appeared. “I had no idea what to expect today, especially because of the weather, and so I’m impressed that people came to Arabi to see them,” said Eddie Breaux, an agent with NOLA Realty. “They have a similar style to one another, but they aren’t cookie cutter.” The cottages, part of a new residential community in St. Bernard Parish dubbed “The Heights,” are built on lots cleared and reclaimed after Hurricane Katrina under a parish program that aims to redevelop residential areas and bring families back to the once-devastated area.
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A look inside Arabi’s brand-new neighborhood, The Heights

More first-time homebuyers are fleeing to Arabi as home sale and rental prices increase in New Orleans. In July, Realtor.com ranked Arabi among the country’s fastest-growing suburbs. Thanks to lower housing costs, a new arts district, and a new 8.1-mile asphalt bike path, this quiet neighborhood in “da Parish” is becoming a destination in its own right. “St. Bernard is really stepping up its game to compete in the metro area,” said real estate agent Lara Schultz in an emailed interview.
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How legal hemp could change the game for home builders and farmers in Louisiana

Louisiana’s 2019 legislative session is underway, and a bill by Rep. Clay Schexnayder would legalize industrial hemp as authorized by the recently passed Farm Bill. ”Industrial hemp is an alternative specialty high value crop with the potential to create new industries and enhance economic development for Louisiana,” Schexnayder stated in a press release. Since today is Earth Day, and since hemp is an eco-friendly, sustainable building material, we thought we’d check in with a local farmer, Jacob of Breathing Waters, and a local builder, Kayne LaGraize of LaGraize Builders, to find out how its legalization could revolutionize their industries. Jacob says legalization would allow him to enter a booming market, diversify his farm’s income streams, and invest in additional farmland. “There are thousands of other uses for hemp besides CBD, from building materials and animal feed to cloth,” Jacob said. “You can create textiles out of hemp, which requires a lot less pesticides, water and bleach than cotton. It is a way more environmentally friendly product.”
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America’s 10 Fastest-Growing Suburbs Aren’t ‘Sleepy’ At All: It's a 'Burb Boom!

Americans are falling in love with the ’burbs again. The longstanding romance cooled a bit after the 2008 financial crisis, but as cash makes its way back into personal savings accounts, folks are again indulging their instinctual urge to grab their own piece of the national dream—front and back yard included, thank you very much. But if you think suburbs are serene and low-key compared to the bustle of big cities, you probably haven't bought a home in a popular one lately. Demand is fierce in communities that have the right mix of good schools, short commute times, fun and walkable downtowns, and lots of new, spacious homes. And things are only likely to get hotter, considering that millennials, America's biggest group of buyers, are moving to suburbia in ever-greater numbers.
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Restoring New Orleans by Building on Its Past

In New Orleans, many homeowners see themselves as temporary guardians of history. They work tirelessly to protect and preserve the city's storied past, through tempered renovations on their homes and an eye for the architectural nuance that makes this Southern city so unique. When Hurricane Katrina swept through their communities, destroying everything in its path, all that had been preserved for nearly 300 years was put at risk. But new architects rose up and—with respect for the roots and traditions of New Orleans—started rebuilding. And along the way they began adding their own style to this city's architectural gumbo. Ten years later, housing in New Orleans is a tantalizing mix of the familiar and the new. Here's how one city has managed to carve a future out of the rubble.
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At $163,300, is this Two Bedroom Reno Worth the Price?

[UPDATE:] Kayne LaGraize has reached out regarding 5922 Urquhart St and states that the property is being sold for 145k more than purchased and that it was acquired in September of last year. Before photos can be found here. LaGraize Builders LLC have yet another home on the market. They purchased 5922 Urquhart St for just $15,000 just one month ago and swiftly went to work on its interior, adding touches like reclaimed wood accents in the kitchen and fleur de lis stained glass in the bathroom. This two bedroom, one bath Arts and Crafts home is just a mile past the bridge in the Lower Ninth Ward and asks a whopping $163,300, a full $161,800 more than what it was purchased for and well over the area's average when compared to homes of a similar scope. So, is it worth it?
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We Went There: Live in a New Orleans Firehouse That Rose From the Ashes

While New Orleans Fire Engine No. 39 won't be roaring out of this garage ever again, it doesn't mean this old firehouse couldn't rise from the ashes. Thanks to a major effort from a local builder, this fire station in the Holy Cross neighborhood is habitable for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. It's on the market for $369,000. How you want to use it is up to you. When we visited the 2,110-square-foot corner lot, we marveled at the possibilities. "I can just picture a coffee shop -- you have your bar right here and a bathroom over there and an office," says listing agent Lara Schultz, gesturing around the home's massive garage. Edison lightbulbs hang from the ceiling on thick, curvy wire. "Maybe an artist's gallery," she says.
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Reclaimed Spaces

In the 19th Century, the Mississippi River served as a main thoroughfare for commerce; waterborne trade dominated over the undeveloped national road systems. But, before the American steamboat could successfully navigate upstream, it was a one-way highway to New Orleans, both a river and ocean port city, that became famous for its multiculturalism. A byproduct of this downstream flow is that tradesmen from the north would travel down the river on simple barges to break up and sell with the rest of their goods and then simply walk back north via the Natchez Trace or other popular walking routes. The lumber, in turn, ended up in service to building homes for the growing population of residents. Bargeboard houses were raised all around the port; after Hurricane Katrina, this wood from the north, with all of its history, would come to shine again.
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An inside look at Bywater home renovations

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) -- The Bywater and gentrification have become synonymous as of late, but LaGraize Builders defends the renovation trend -- justifying it as a means to bring the neighborhood back to its historical roots. The Bywater is in high demand because of its architecture, which is predominately classic shotgun double homes. Due to the changing family demographics and the numbers of people moving back into the city after Katrina, a demand for more single-family homes has risen. Kayne LaGraize, a developer, hand picks and purchases abandoned homes in the Bywater and returns them to their glory days by using materials that retain the historical integrity of the property.
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Would You Pay $525K for this Holy Cross Creole Cottage?

There's been renewed interest in the quiet Holy Cross, with a lot of renovations hitting the market. Most of the houses there are still priced pretty low compared to the rest of the city—most the homes currently on the market in the neighborhood are in the $200,000-$300,000 range—but this renovated Creole cottage that just hit the market is aiming high with a $525,000 asking price, making it the most expensive home on the market in Holy Cross right now. Built in 1868, the home sits on a big corner lots and includes lots of exposed barge board and reclaimed wood bathroom furniture (LaGraize Builders is a repeat reclaimed wood offender, as you can see from another house they have on the market on the same street). Would you spend this much in an up-and-coming neighborhood?
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